November 11, 2009
Investigating Chinese Drywall Allegations
Fire Investigations-The Importance of an Engineer
Meet the Expert: Laura Weems, CIH
Investigating Chinese Drywall Allegations
 Insurers are poised for a battle over tainted Chinese drywall as the tie between health problems and corrosion in houses containing the drywall continues to be scientifically investigated. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that elevated levels of sulfur and strontium are present in Chinese drywall, but has not confirmed whether those elevated levels correlate to the metal corrosion of copper pipe, heating and air conditioning units, electrical wiring, or health problems cited by residents in recent insurance claims and lawsuits. Estimated total economic losses from Chinese drywall could reach in the tens of millions of dollars, but the total economic impact on insurers is still unknown.
The critical issue is the drywall off-gassing effect from contaminants sulfur and strontium, which have been found to exist at elevated levels in Chinese drywall. This leads to claims associated with health issues and/or corrosion of critical metals integral to electrical and mechanical equipment in homes. Claimants have reported blackened and corroded metal in their homes leading to the failure of certain components such as
premature failures of central air conditioning evaporator coils as part of the central air conditioning unit air handler; intermittent operation or failure of appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers, televisions and video game systems. Various health symptoms that are often reported include: persistent cough, bloody and runny nose, headaches, difficulty in breathing and irritated, itchy eyes and skin.
The legal and insurance industries are anxiously awaiting the production of a CPSC or federal agency protocol for the investigation of Chinese drywall. Regardless of when the protocol is published, new cases continue to arise that have an immediate need to be investigated. CED engineers will take a comprehensive approach to address the allegations and any possible contributing factors by Chinese drywall. Our team includes several key areas of expertise in order to more fully understand all of the contributing factors. We start with an assessment by an industrial hygienist of the contaminants affecting indoor air quality and confirm whether they are at dangerous or safe levels. Unsafe levels of certain air contaminants indicate off gassing of the harmful elements found in Chinese drywall. Our civil engineering team can conduct an inspection of the building and construction methods, and also confirm the drywall product in place. With a strong background in construction, the civil engineer uses their trained eye to locate corroded metal in homes and determine cause & origin of mechanical failure. Our chemical engineer can analyze samples of drywall material to confirm the chemical composition and compare with drywall composition standards. This effort can lead to confirmation of origin of the contaminants leading to root cause of the loss.
Obviously, remediation for contaminated drywall in construction has huge cost ramifications. This concern of the problems with and whereabouts of Chinese drywall will continue as an insurance/litigation issue for a long time. Contact CED to find out more how our engineers can thoroughly investigate your Chinese drywall matters.
tudy and enhance accident prevention, standard adherence and many other areas.
Fire Investigations-The Importance of an Engineer
Accurately determining fire cause and origin requires the disciplines of fire dynamics as well as engineering. Many assume a Certified Fire Investigator with years of experience, training and expertise would be sufficient, but that is not always the case. Over the past few years insurance companies and lawyers have become more vigilant by hiring well-trained and well-equipped professional engineering experts to provide inclusive investigations when determining cause and origin of fire-related cases.
Combined with scientific and engineering principles, CED experts ( who serve as additional fire investigators) use a systematic approach to the investigation and analysis of fire and explosion related incidents.
Our engineers have experience investigating fires in various disciplines such as marine, electrical, mechanical and civil and can consult and provide expert witness testimony in the following areas:
• Origin and Cause Determination
• Evidence Collection/Storage
• Laboratory Analysis/Testing
• Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical) Evaluation
Our engineers are fully trained and licensed, have received specific fire investigation training and are Certified Fire and Explosion Investigators (CFEI) from the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI). Our experts follow a meticulous approach to fire investigation, as well as evidence collection and storage. All of our experts use state-of-the art, equipment such as temperature measuring, recording equipment, and carbon monoxide sampling meters for analyzing material properties and accelerants.
Every year there are thousands of fire investigations in the United States. Without technical or engineering input a fire investigation may cease with conclusions that are incomplete or incorrect. For example, CED was asked to investigate an automobile fire that was initially labeled as an electrical fire. When our expert arrived on the scene to examine the vehicle, the interior components had already been removed. Our engineer meticulously reconstructed the entire vehicle cabin to determine the area of origin. All original equipment and custom electrical components were examined and tested. Furthermore, CED was able to conclude that the fire was not caused by any of the vehicle systems.
Knowledge built on technically defensible data is only one part of what is needed to successfully investigate a fire scene. CED's experts provide the technical edge in:
• Fire pattern recognition
• Fire behavior and spread
• Timeline determination
• Product design and failure mode analysis
• Building construction and material considerations
• Interpretation of fire codes and standards
Since fire often destroys clue-yielding material, expert engineers need to stand ready to build exemplar products or scale reproductions in order to reconstruct the scene. Experience in both technical and legal realms is needed to develop, design and perform relevant and credible tests. At CED our expert engineers have the experience, as well as the impressive reputation, gained from over 20 years of professional services.
CED Investigative Technologies Inc. has been investigating accidents and providing forensic engineering services for over 24 years but an area where potential clients contact CED and still seem uncertain is when an accident involves an Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) violation. OSHA was created in 1970 to prevent work-related accidents, illness and death by creation of regulations and subsequent enforcement. Workplaces including farms, factories, construction sites and marine terminals need to comply with OSHA regulations to make the environment safe for workers. When accidents involving death or injuries to more than one person happen, OSHA field officers are required to investigate. The OSHA investigator will determine if the facility and employer were in compliance with appropriate OSHA regulations, and may issue citations if problems are found. In some cases the regulations violated will relate directly to the cause of the accident. However, citations may also be issued for violation of regulations unrelated to the accident.
Meet the Expert: Laura Weems, CIH
 Laura Weems is one of CED's premier Industrial Hygienist. Mrs. Weems has years of experience in industrial hygiene and a military background in the United States Coast Guard. She holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Marine Studies from the United States Coast Guard Academy and a Master's degree in Industrial Hygiene from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Mrs. Weems is a Certified Industrial Hygienist, Certified Safety Professional, Certified Asbestos Management Planner, Project Designer and Building Inspector. Along with her role as an Industrial Hygienist at CED, Mrs. Weems also works as an Industrial Hygienist in the United States Coast Guard Office of Safety and Environmental Health.
Prior to her position as a Industrial Hygienist, Mrs. Weems held titles in the coast guard as Chief Prevention and Planning, Safety and Environmental Health Officer, Gas Free Engineer and Damage Control Assistant. She also worked at the Marine Safety Office in New Orleans where her duties included investigations and port operations (emergency Response).
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